1. Field of Invention
This invention pertains to the conditioning of air, and particularly to the dehumidification and cooling of air for use in a structure such as a building.
2. Related Art and Other Considerations
Dehumidification and cooling of external air for provision to a conditioned space (such as an interior of a building) is energy intensive, and accordingly expensive. Typically, the external air, being hot and wet, must first be cooled to a low temperature (e.g., 48 degrees F.) by a cooling/dehumifying coil to remove moisture. As a second step, the cooled air must be reheated to an intermediate temperature (e.g., 72 degrees F. dry bulb) using a reheat coil to obtain a low relative humidity condition (e.g., 40% relative humidity). Significantly, operation of the reheat coil expends precious energy.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide method and apparatus for dehumidifying and conditioning air without extensive supplemental heating operation.